What is the Australasian Barbecue Alliance?

So, you’re interested in competition BBQ. You’ve read a few blog posts, watched a few videos and joined a few Facebook groups. And you’ve come across the Australasian Barbecue Alliance. Actually, if you’ve been getting into BBQ and you haven’t come across the Australasian Barbecue Alliance yet, you’re doing it wrong! But what is the ABA and how did it come about?

What is the Australasian Barbecue Alliance?

Be on the look out for this logo!

The Australasian Barbecue Alliance is an Australian sanctioning body for competitive BBQ. This means that they have established the rules and procedures for the competition as well as the judging process. Moreover, they officiate the competitions at the various festivals and events around the country. Any time there is an ABA sanctioned competition, there will be at least one ABA official there to oversee the competition and make sure everything runs the way it should.

Their mission is to promote low’n’slow cooking in Australasia. They are very active in the social media domain, putting out reviews, how-to’s and also manage Australia’s biggest BBQ Facebook group. If you haven’t joined the group yet, get on there now – it’s the best!

My comp site set-up…

How did the Australasian Barbecue Alliance come about?

The Australasian Barbecue Alliance was founded in 2014 by co-founders Adam Roberts, Jay Beaumont, and Jess Pryles. Initially, master promoter Jay, had an idea to host Australia’s first BBQ competition in Port Macquarie, NSW. He tossed the idea over with long-time friend Adam and they decided to give it a crack. They partnered up with public relations and marketing guru Jess and the first Australian BBQ Wars was born. The event was incredibly successful. In post-festival debriefs, Adam, Jay and Jess decided they were on to something, and the alliance was founded.

The Smoking Hot Confessions Competition Team…

What’s next for the Australasian Barbecue Alliance?

The rise in popularity has been meteoric, with 2 events in 2014, 6 in 2015 and 18 in 2016. They’re even expanding into New Zealand with their first comp in Auckland in February. At the time of writing, there are already 28 competitions confirmed for 2017. The rumour from my inside-man is to expect 30 to 35 by the end of the year.

There were 100 teams in 2015 and 204 in 2016. Who knows how many teams there will be in 2017? Will you be joining us?